Our View: Joining forces to fight Fall River's addiction battles

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Mar 29, 2014 at 6:00 PMMar 29, 2014 at 6:31 PM

It used to be Fall River's dirty little secret. But opiate abuse has become so common, it is no longer in the shadows. “I've yet to come across a person who has not been affected by prescription drugs, that doesn't know a family member, a neighbor, someone in their life who has been affected by drugs,” said Laura Washington, the BOLD Coalition program director for Stanley Street Treatment and Resources.

Herald News Editorial Board

It used to be Fall River’s dirty little secret. But opiate abuse has become so common, it is no longer in the shadows. “I’ve yet to come across a person who has not been affected by prescription drugs, that doesn’t know a family member, a neighbor, someone in their life who has been affected by drugs,” said Laura Washington, the BOLD Coalition program director for Stanley Street Treatment and Resources.

A grassroots group consisting of a large segment of community, known as the Fall River Partnership for Success, has mobilized to fight this problem plaguing our community. The city is actually at the forefront of efforts nationwide — and is collaborating and learning about efforts in other parts of the country — to tackle the problem head on through both prevention and treatment efforts.

“We are the model for what the state is doing,” Washington said of the partnership, which is made up of 12 “sectors,” representing a wide swath of the community — from education leaders, to political officials, law enforcement, medical professionals and media.

Three of the group’s leaders discussed their efforts to address the opiate problem with The Herald News Editorial Board recently. One of its leaders on the frontlines of the issue is Walsh Pharmacy owner Tom Pasternak, who also serves as chairman of the BOLD Coalition. Pasternak believes that the Centers for Disease Control and the federal government have been far too complacent as the epidemic, he says, has become a “pandemic.”

Unfortunately, he said, some unscrupulous pharmaceutical companies hold tremendous influence at the federal level, which has allowed the approval of dangerous, powerful opiate-based drugs, which end up fueling opiate addiction — and that can lead to heroin use. That, combined with a lack of coordination among doctors prescribing such medication and pharmacists dispensing it, has made the opiate-based drugs widely available, only adding fuel to the fire.

“Fall River is leading in that way to fight this national problem,” Washington said. Locally, the Partnership for Success II, with a grant from the state, is helping to get the message out about the dangers associated with prescription drug abuse among young adults, launching a public service announcement featuring “The Portuguese Kids” on the Internet and other media targeted at 18- to 25-year-olds.

Meanwhile, at the state level, Gov. Deval Patrick took an extraordinary step on Thursday in declaring opiate abuse a public health emergency. In doing so, Patrick has given emergency powers to the Department of Public Health director, and has directed his administration to “treat it like the public health crisis it is.”

While there are a number of paths that can lead to opiate addiction, it often begins in the medicine cabinet. Therefore, among Patrick’s directives are for the DPH to mandate that physicians and pharmacies use the Massachusetts Prescription Monitoring Program, a database intended to prevent prescription drug abuse and fraud. The previously voluntary program has been in existence for more than 20 years, but has been woefully under-utilized by both doctors and pharmacists and has not been promoted and explained properly by DPH.

Patrick’s directives — which also include immediately banning Zohydro, a powerful new opiate-based prescription medication; granting permission for first responders to carry the overdose anitdode Narcan; requiring a state panel to issue further action steps in 60 days, and issuing of a public health advisory informing the public about treatment options — should help ensure that proper emergency safeguards are swiftly put into place.

But the solution to the problem does not begin and end with government action. “It’s not a political issue; it’s a public health issue,” said Michael Aguiar, the youth program coordinator at SSTAR. “We can make a difference if everyone does their part.” With a lack of action on the federal level, it is up to states and local communities to take steps to address it.

And at both levels, both Fall River and Massachusetts are on the cutting edge. It will take as many people as possible to become a part of the solution. One easy place to start is in the medicine cabinet — by properly disposing of prescription medications so they cannot be abused.

To learn more about the Partnership for Success efforts and to access a variety of resources on prescription drug abuse, visit stoprxaddiction.org and stopaddictionbyprescription.org.

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